Medequip mobilises trainees to turn studies into support on the ground at COVID-19 units
With the health & social care system in overdrive and new facilities being rapidly created to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, Medequip has utilised its keen team of trainees to deliver and install equipment needed to reduce pressure on hospitals and critical care facilities.
When Gallions View Care home in Greenwich was being set up as a specialist centre for COVID-19 patients to ease the burden on the local hospital and other care facilities, Medequip’s local Woolwich team was tasked with installing beds and associated items to equip 30 care rooms.
Paul Cockburn, Medequip Centre of Excellence trainer, proposed a novel solution that would help increase the outsourced Community Equipment Services provider to increase its capacity for the future.
“With 10 trainees on my cohort at our training centre in Woolwich, it seemed like an excellent idea to put their studies and knowledge to good use in support of our team on the ground,” said Paul.
“Following discussions and planning with our local operational team, it was decided to mobilise our newest technicians to complete the work.”
The equipment was delivered into the care home, with some sent directly from suppliers and some from Medequip’s Woolwich depot.
At 9 am on the 7th April, the team of trainees began work; no special PPE was needed as the facility was empty, awaiting its first patients.
By lunchtime, the rooms were ready to admit their first inpatients, with the trainees having successfully installed a total of 30 Accora floor beds (low level profiling beds) and mattresses, commodes, overbed tables and high back chairs, as well as two mobile hoists and two floor-standing hoists.
Following the success of the initiative, Medequip has put the team of trainees back into action, this time at Time Court in Charlton, a care unit with COVID-19 patients already on the wards.
According to the company, Medequip took extra care with government-approved PPE, maintaining strict distancing from patients and staff. Within one and a half hours, four beds had been installed complete with side rails, mattresses and two hoists, all ready for use with minimal disruption to the work on the unit.
A spokesperson from the unit praised the trainee team, referring to the installation as a “military operation” where the team were briefed outside and came in two by two, where they were directed to the individual rooms.
David Griffiths, Managing Director of Medequip, commented: “At Medequip, we’re very proud of our teams around the country who are handling an increased workload to ensure vulnerable people continue to get the support they need and to help with hospital discharges.
“This is a great example of the Medequip team at its very best, working together for the good of our service users, using ingenuity and expertise to make sure we can match the new challenges we are currently facing on a daily basis.”
Recently, Medequip and several leading outsourced CES providers, along with the British Healthcare Trades Association, agreed to work collaboratively during the pandemic in an effort to help the NHS, local authorities and vulnerable individuals throughout the pandemic.
